


Fairy Tale: Queen Eirene Rodin and the Veles Maul

by Chronicbane



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Magical Artifacts, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Mythology - Freeform, Slavic mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 16:39:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11108574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chronicbane/pseuds/Chronicbane
Summary: A Fairy Tale of a Queen who hides from pain behind strength.





	Fairy Tale: Queen Eirene Rodin and the Veles Maul

Eirene Rodin, Queen over Kingdom Kreorid. Kreorid specialized in arts, people from all over would flock to the grand city, to trade, to act, to work, and mostly, to celebrate. The city wasn't large, but Queen Eirene wanted it that way, she longed to manage closely with each district always handling each of their unique troubles with her own hands. The Queen, known to be devoted, brilliant, and most of all, caring did have one weakness because of this. To make the hard decisions and sacrifices necessary for her kingdom, and because of that, the country was easily influenced by outside subjects.  
With no army to protect her walls she relied heavily on diplomacy, all her advisers reminded her that her way of doing things could not last forever and change was needed. She disagreed, her naivety of all things in life treat you the way you treat them soured the people's opinion of her, but did not shun her completely. Instead, her people waited, holding their breath waiting for their end to arrive in the hands of neighboring kingdom. Miraculously she kept the peace, but it was also time for an heir, and the idea of finding love in another besides the kingdom itself was appealing to her.  
She held festivals and feasts in celebration of the activity. She watches gruesome displays, feast after feast, with none to peak her interest. Instead, her love finds her. A prince by the name of Lukan Greenlock wins her all too caring heart with a swift and golden tongue, displaying an impressive amount of knowledge of the world around him. Prince Lukan had shared stories of his adventures and experiences. He showered her with kind words, which the queen had discovered too late were lies.  
Abandoned at the altar on her wedding day. She waited, and waited, everyone but her could see what has happened. What Queen Eirene saw was her love abandoning her for power. Not long after her wedding had been called off, news from the neighboring kingdom read a wedding was being celebrated, and that she would be invited. The logical side of her brain chirped at this grand opportunity to build more diplomacy, the queen could no longer register that side, however. Something had clouded her vision, she was unable to move on day after day like she could normally. She would ask herself and those closest to her how this could have happened. But as the days passed by, something in her head was speaking words for her to commit something she would never even think about doing. She ignored it of course, but that didn't mean she could focus on her responsibilities and goals, in fact, she was falling into peril.  
Then the week of the wedding arose, and she was sent along on her way to celebrate something she did not want to see. Something under her skin was itching, her nerves on edge and patience non-existent, but what was it exactly? She pondered the burning sensation, never sharing with anyone in fear of them calling her crazy. The journey to the distant kingdom brought her through many forests, but one, in particular, had her practically jumping from her carriage. Her eyes couldn't see much beyond the small gap before her, tunnel vision guided her through the forest as she left behind everything she worked for. She abandoned those who cared about her one by one the further she ran into the marshy forest.  
In her blind rush to escape everything that demanded her attention, she collapses, tired and lost. Past the loud sobbing from her throat she hears a rather soothing voice wise and dominant under the sound of man, she follows the voice out of blind curiosity. Her concern for her own safety had long been cast aside, she no longer cared. She navigates the dark and deserted swampland the voice from before pulls her in like a soft caress.  
She reaches a clearing surrounded by ruins of stone and rubble, at the center, a great Warhammer rests, its aura: mystical and nameless as sits alone at the base of a grand moss riddled tree. The hammer was woven in between vines and other green vegetation showing its age. Before she can investigate any further, a massive bird of prey sits perched on a branch above the huge maul, sly in its demeanor it speaks.  
“Oh fallen Queen, in exchange for your life you owe me but one favor.” The voice from before asks, the bird eyes her boldly as if staring into her soul and reading her life experiences.  
“I owe you nothing for I have no interest in having my life spared, beast.” Eirene retorts, her voice heavy with grief and wavering between barely contained emotion. The green orbs above study her in a thick silence.  
The beast speaks, “You can call me, Salvacho Karpov, the favor I demand from you is simple and will take you but little time.”  
“No, I do not desire-”  
“The hammer wields strength beyond what your fractured mind could comprehend, the hammer picks its own master, however, and I wish to see who will satisfy such an unmovable thing. You agitate my patience the more you ignore your innate curiosity to grasp the ancient weapon.”  
“I am not worthy,”  
“How do you know?”  
“I have no strength. You waste your time the longer you keep me alive.”  
“Killing you would require effort on my part, effort in which I would rather you do something for me first.” Salvacho snaps back, his words leaving Eirene silent in defeat.  
“What will it take for you to end my life?”  
“I desire only a simple thing, dear queen, raise this hammer, and if you fail, I will grant what is is you want.”  
The queen lifts her head to the words of the beast, “How will I know if you’re honest?” The bird is silent a moment.  
“What do you have left to lose?” Salvacho retorts with his voice laced with humor. The Queen gives in and approaches the maul, already knowing she would be unable to, the size alone would make it difficult for her body, not to mention the solid metal to boot.  
Her fingers drape around the handle before her, feeling the worn texture surprisingly warm to the touch, she closes her first around it. First, she rests there a moment, doing nothing but staring at the height of the weapon clearing only a couple inches above her head. With one last glance over at the beast on the branch above she sighs to herself and presumes to put forth her effort. She lifts her arm, expecting an unmovable weight she braces down.  
Much to her surprise, the hammer lifts like a leaf, she is sent backward on her heels before toppling over a tree root, the hammer falls to the floor with a dull thud. The possibility of it all makes her head spin as she finally begins to question her reality. Her eyes dart around to register the response from the strange bird of prey, but it's gone. Footsteps behind her spur her to look around elsewhere.  
“Would you look at that…” the voice from before speaks out from where in the forest, “now you wield a powerful weapon, of destruction or conception that is for you and you alone to determine.” Salvacho whispers, ghastly in tone at her ears. Her head pivots around for the source crawling away out of fear, no matter what she did or how far she was, the whispering at the back of her skull remained closer than she wanted.  
“Stop! I never asked for this! Release me, I do not desire this, beast!” Eirene submits almost angrily. For a moment she believes her pleas were heard.  
Motion at the corner of her eye alerted her to a new presence, a tall being sealed in, pale, blue skin and wrapped in strands of green and yellow plant material. The creature's face was carved into a devious grin, sharp ivories on display under the luminous green orbs at the eye sockets. The creature resembles a human mostly, but small details set off alarms in Eirene’s mind to get away. Silently, he stands before her. The silence goes on long enough to bring Eirene to relax but question the man's motives.  
“What?” the being raises a brow at her question.  
The pale skinned individual parts their lips to speak, “Well, go on, go claim what is now yours. It will certainly be a waste if you ask me.”  
Eirene’s gaze narrows at the beast, “What am I supposed to call you?”  
A subtle huff of air escapes the man, “I told you already, did I not?” Eirene shrinks away from the creature, her logical mind says its name is Salvacho, but her real question is what is it? “Oh, I see, you want to put a name to what I am? I’ve been called many things m’dear; monster, demon, the wrath of the swamp lands for those who felt dramatic enough, but the fact remains that I am the Leshy of these marshlands.” Eirene can only stare wide-eyed at the openness of the creature. “You’re nervous, I understand,” the Leshy kneels down before the Queen invading her personal space, “but, milady, you’re stuck with me until that hammer you have just awoken deems it necessary to relinquish your control.”  
The Queen eyes the hammer laid heavily on the ground in the distance. “What is it you have left to defend against? You said so yourself, Eirene, there is nothing left for you.” And just like that, the Leshy sends the Queen’s mind into that dark place again, only this time she is not blinded by that haze that trapped her from before.  
“What is this place?” The queen asked with a focused gazed. The Leshy silently stares down at her for a moment.  
“There is an abandoned castle deeper in this forest, which is in need of a ruler, a powerful one at that. A ruler willing to put forth the work necessary to rebuild its former glory, and you, m’dear, no one but you and that maul you had awoken can manage such a feat.” For a moment Eirene is ready to follow the beast without question. “You will be leaving behind everything you once held dear do not forget; Your kingdom, loved one's, wealth, and social status. This decision is yours alone, not mine.”  
“That’s fine.” The Queen retorts, in the back of her mind she imagines herself visiting those she cares for eventually. “Lead me to my new domain, Leshy.” But little did she know.  
Upon those final words, Salvacho guides the Queen through the marshlands riddled with mysterious ruins from what came before. It’s not long before the duo arrives before a clearing, luminescent and alluring as the castle sits atop the secluded plains.  
The Queen wasted no time as she begins to build.  
Dawn to dusk.  
Weeks turning into months.  
And months into years.  
The old castle’s domain grew in the form of a large town as she began to build walls. She would build walls so thick, a divide that would in a sense separate the city from all the pain,-her pain. Every bash from the great war hammer, slab by slab, the walls built so high that it began to block out the sun, turning the once bright land into gloom and twilight.  
The queen would repeat this process, the boundaries of her new and growing kingdom stretching all throughout the marshlands like an inextinguishable wildfire. The houses that were tucked away behind the towering walls held no souls. The kingdom was without people, the Queen would sit upon her throne, nested deep inside her muted castle thinking of nothing but what more she could build or add to her growing lands.  
Eventually word spread. There had been a sight of a vast kingdom growing rapidly in size. But with no inhabitants behind its walls. Outsider’s curiosity wondered who was behind it all and approached the Queen, wondering if they could take shelter within her walls, some wishing to rejoin their Queen once again. Queen Eirene would only let in a few, even when she did, she did not allow them any closer than the farthest section from her castle as possible. More people began to take up space behind those walls, but the closer they got to the center, little did they know how much more dangerous for them it became.  
The Queen had lost even more tolerance the closer they got to where the castle stood. Eirene fought off those who challenged her in any way, those who sought to bring pain into her kingdom. Heartless and stone cold became her nickname, the insanity of it all only grew the more she aggressively slaughtered those who did her kingdom wrong, the more she killed, however, her image appeared more and more nefarious.  
The people hated her brutality, complained, accusing the Leshy who sits upon the great war hammer at her side of leading their once gentle Queen astray. Eirene did not care, however. She had strength at her side. Eirene believed she didn't need anything else as long as she kept herself hidden behind the power of her walls that she built with the great maul’s aid. She no longer cared about anything else, as long as she was kept from experiencing any more pain. As long as no one tried to hurt her, her walls or her buildings, she would do whatever it took to shut out any more pain.  
Her reign could not continue forever. Eirene was so content with the death of her past self that she had become content with becoming the monster she needed to become for the sake of not feeling any more pain.  
This behavior did not sit well with the neighboring kingdoms. They were out for Eirene's head, Kreorid included. And yet, she let them come, they busted down walls faster than she could kill her attackers. Anger flooded her veins, rage consumed her entirely, she was ready to sacrifice more of her humanity just to defend herself from more pain and yet, the Hammer continued to grow heavier. But her world stopped when she could no longer lift the hammer that had remained at her side for decades.  
Confusion pointed at the Leshy at her side, but nothing else. She somehow knew she would be abandoned when she needed it most. She pleaded the Leshy for the beast to offer her the hammer’s power once more, one final time to fend off her attackers.  
The Leshy explained to her calmly, “The Veles Maul is not mine to control, Eirene. It never has been, and never will. The hammer has made its decision.”  
“You lied to me!”  
“I never claimed the hammer to be mine, m’dear.” Salvacho countered. With those words Eirene accepted the hand dealt with her, she admitted to hiding behind the strength of the hammer, she admitted to abusing its power, but what would she do now? Her attackers were at her castle’s door ready to behead her. She readied herself. Standing before those who threatened her, she retaliated of her own accord.  
Eirene fought for hours with only her own metal and wit, hours seemed to pass without even the faintest of respite. And when the last man was slain, under her own blade, she returned to her broken shelter. Only to find it empty. She had spent years hiding behind strength, she admitted to letting that change who she really was. And so, she cried at what she had lost. She felt pain for the first time in a long time, rather this time, however, she felt in control in how she would handle it.

**Author's Note:**

> Aye! There you are~! You made it! You have officially impressed me. This is my first Fairy Tale, I have written some additional content around these two characters that I have wanted to share with y'all for awhile, but it wouldn't make sense if I didn't introduce them from their origins. So here it is. I hope you liked it. I hope it made sense at least, that's what I'm mostly concerned about. And most importantly, thank you for reading, if you could so much as bless me with your gorgeous signature I promise I wouldn't take it and sell it on the internet on some shady site...I mean if that's what you might have been thinking- cause I wasn't thinking that at all- not at all.  
> Thanks so much again!  
> Cya Around!


End file.
